


doctor-proof

by justsleepwalkin



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BS Science, Bad end, Gen, spoilers for Journey's End, spoilers for Planet of the Dead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-16 04:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14156700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justsleepwalkin/pseuds/justsleepwalkin
Summary: “I’ve manipulated the people around you, Doctor. The people that are left behind when you run off. And tothinkyou leave the most brilliant behind… the one with the best of minds. Oh, she’s reallysomething, Doctor.”And at last, the Master has him. The strange calm the Doctor had now fades into quiet horror. “What do you mean?” he questions, voice rushed. Thefireand theiceawaken within his gaze.





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> What worries you masters you. -Haddon W. Robinson

It’s funny because the Doctor fully expects it: that the Master wouldn’t simply _let_ himself die, if there wasn’t any way for him to come back. It’s funny to watch the knowing look cross the other’s face when he hears the Master’s voice from where the Time Lord sits, perched in the rafters. The Master offers him an expression as if the Doctor was some poor, lost child, and calls out the woman who helped make things possible.  
  
Carmen stands below him and before the Doctor. Her eyes watch him, gaze hypnotizing. “Isn’t she lovely, Doctor?” the Master asks, jumping down from his perch and sidling up besides Carmen. “I thought her tone was a nice touch. The prophetic mention of your coming fate…Darling, I applaud you performance.”   
  
“How did you get her to find me?” the Doctor asks coolly, slipping hands into jacket pockets and watching the Master, face guarded.  
  
“Seek the Doctor,” Carmen whispers airily. “Seek the man that huddles in the corner of your dreams.”  
  
The Master smirks. “You forget the power of my mind, Doctor.”  
  
“I try not to remember.”  
  
“And _that’s_ how you keep stumbling into such trouble!” the Master laughs, dancing away. Carmen remains locked in her position. “Again, again, again, again — over and over! Well, at least you don’t have a nagging human pulling at your reins anymore. Now you can do all _sorts_ of naughty things without them knowing!”  
  
“What have you done, this time, Master?” the Doctor asks, not falling for any of the Master’s laid out bait.   
  
The Master’s face falls, disappointed. “The darkness,” he murmurs.  
  
“Davros already tried that one.”  
  
“ _Davros_ ,” the Master spits the name. “He never knows what he’s doing. Always _wrong_.”   
  
“He’s similar to you.”  
  
“He is _NOT_!”  
  
“You both like having an audience. Me, specifically. That’s always your downfall.” The Doctor starts walking towards him, passing Carmen with a brief glance. “And that’s why I’m going to stop you, from whatever it is you’ve decided to pull apart and break this time. Are you going to tell me yet?”  
  
The Master stares at him furiously. The Doctor is taking this far too in stride for his liking. He was supposed to quiver and beg the Master to stop and start into his pitiful speeches that they’re the only two left (again) and should be _allies_ , not enemies.  
  
It isn’t so funny that the Doctor expected this. It angers him.  
  
“I’ve manipulated the people around you, Doctor. The people that are left behind when you run off. And to _think_ you leave the most brilliant behind… the one with the best of minds. Oh, she’s really _something_ , Doctor.”  
  
And at last, the Master has him. The strange calm the Doctor had now fades into quiet horror. “What do you mean?” he questions, voice rushed. The _fire_ and the _ice_ awaken within his gaze.   
  
“I couldn’t keep poor Carmen all on her lonesome. She needed a friend!”  
  
“Donna Noble,” Carmen speaks.   
  
“ _What have you done_?” the Doctor now demands, breathing becoming heavier.  
  
“Donna, dear!” The Master claps his hands together twice. “The one who chose to condemn you wishes to see you!”  
  
Donna glides out from around churning machinery. She tosses a bored glance to the Doctor, then an annoyed one to the Master as she stops not far from him. “Oi, you call me out for _him_? I have better things to be workin’ on, you know. Equipment doesn’t just _build itself_.”  
  
“D-Donna —” the Doctor stammers, heartbroken.   
  
“Yeah, whatever,” she snaps at him, flipping her hands into the air, “Special Donna Noble, in the flesh.” She huffs and rolls her head to the Master. “Really. Busy, busy. I thought you said you would deal with him so _I_ wouldn’t have to.”  
  
“But isn’t it just _lovely_ watching his hearts break? Look at that expression! Simply priceless.”  
  
“Priceless,” Donna repeats dryly.   
  
“Fine, fine,” the Master sighs, “Go on and finish the job.”  
  
Donna, gratefully, does so.  
  
There’s sadness lacing his voice when the Doctor speaks again. “What… did you do to her?”  
  
“I _fixed_ her, actually. Because you left her so _easily_ breakable. Poor woman, one misstep of words and her mind is exploding — no, wait, that’s not right. Curiously enough, _your_ mind was exploding, within her!” He tsks. “Do you leave all of your companions in such a ruddy wreck? No, I didn’t try to find Miss Jones. While I’m sure manipulating her would feel so rewarding, she’s still far too pathetic in your new line of humans.”  
  
“But Donna… she isn’t… she wouldn’t…”  
  
“Wouldn’t cast you aside so swiftly? Maybe you should’ve thought what would happen, then. You broke her. You made her something she should have never been, and then you strand her in a mun _dane_ , wisp of a life, away from something _better_. And so I, the Master, took it upon myself to save the child, and then show her the universe after a few… added tweaks.” He grins, looking immensely glorified.   
  
“You made her into a slave!” the Doctor shouts angrily. “She would never want this!”  
  
The Master shakes his head. Around them, a humming begins to fill the room. “I have done no such thing, Doctor.”  
  
The Doctor, obviously, refuses to believe him. His gaze searches the room quickly, trying to decipher the source of the humming. His rage shrouds his form, making him more dangerous than ever before. “I’ll stop you, Master. I always do,” he growls darkly, determination in his stance.  
  
“Doctor, Doctor, Doctor…” the Master scolds, stalking towards him. He whispers something to Carmen, and she leaves in the same direction Donna went off to. “We could accomplish such great things if we worked on the same side.”  
  
“And I would never side with you, not like this.”  
  
“Ah, you’re missing the point I’m trying to make, however. _You_ may never side with  me, but,” he stands mere feet from the other, clasping his hands together, “what about someone else who shares your mind? I wonder, Doctor, what happens then?”  
  
The humming grows, vibrations now racking the room and the Doctor, _oh the Doctor_ , realizes terribly what has become of the situation. “Yes,” the Master whispers, leaning towards him, “I think I’ve won, don’t you?”


	2. two

“It’s simple, Doctor. You first destroy the universe — break down the basic fundaments that hold it together, and then you _push_ further. You find those other ruffles, those hidden corners of time. You find all those little locked periods that the Time Lords created, all those trapped planets… And you pop their locks.” The Master flutters his fingers through the air around him, eyes dancing. This is his greatest masterpiece yet. He’s so proud of what will be accomplished here, today.  
  
“Let their chaos flood into the chaos of this universe, let it spread further and further until times are just so _dark_ … And in that madness, Doctor, I do something that you could never bring yourself to do. I pluck out that little home of ours, right from the chaos, right from the shreds of a broken time-lock and the universe… and place it right amongst the heavens.” He folds his hands behind him and grins widely. “All. Hail. _The Master_.” Yes, simple.  
  
“No, no, no… please. _No_. This is wrong - _so wrong_ \- and you know it. This is going too far. You can’t do this!”  
  
“ _I_ can do _whatever_ I want, Doctor!” the Master yells, fists clenched. “I don’t need _you_. I have your mind. I have what I need, finally. And you know what? You practically _gave_ it to me. Isn’t that precious? Well, you always did fail at protecting your companions.”  
  
He turns away from the Doctor, arms flung out, greeting the grating sound — oh, it was like the drums coming to life, echoing around them. Machinery expelling steam and _music_. Simply stunning. Donna truly is a genius. It should be the Doctor here, at his side, making this happen, bringing Gallifrey back. But Donna will have to do. Donna is a jewel in her own way, and only the Master is left to treasure her.  
  
Beautiful.  
  
“Can you hear it, Doctor?” the Master purrs, arching his head to the rafters. “Can you hear the cries of the universe? Can you feel time _screaming_? The Time Lords are coming back, you see. A war-torn planet, and I’m bringing them out to safety. I’m rescuing them, instead of _burning_ them. You were always cruel in your own way, Doctor. Thinking you were making people and _things_ better, but really…” He glances over his shoulder and grins at the Doctor’s shattering image, “I know you.”  
  
And there’s the irony… only, the Master proved the Doctor wrong, once. That could not be reversed now. The Master knew the Doctor better than _anybody_ , possibly even Donna. He knew all the tiny ways to break him, to set him spiraling into despair or becoming like a wild animal — the notorious Oncoming Storm. Oh yes. He always knew the emotional side of the Doctor.  
  
With Donna, he had the logic in his grasp. The way the Doctor’s mind works without being bogged down by ethics. He was one-hundred percent _Doctor-proof_.  
  
“They’re singin’ now, you raggedy bloke,” Donna chirps, bouncing back into the room, looking quite pleased with herself. “It’ll be quite the show, don’t’cha think?”  
  
“Yes, indeed, Miss Noble.”  
  
“Crack open the champagne, then?” she offers, then she glances over to the Doctor briefly and has to do a double-take to really take him in. She folds her arms and glares at the Master. “You still haven’t gotten rid of ’im yet?”  
  
“All in due time, Donna. He has to see this. He has to see Gallifrey again, see all the Time Lords. See them under _my_ reign.”  
  
“ _Our_ reign, thanks.”  
  
“Of course,” he agrees after a moment. He turns and stalks towards the Doctor, gently picking him up from the ground where he’s recently sagged and grasps his shoulders. “Now, now. Don’t be like that. We’ve only just begun. The war has barely started.” He leans his lips besides the Doctor’s ear and whispers, “The drumming, the drumming, war is coming. You’ll hear them this time, I’m sure of it. You’ll go positively _mad_. The Toclafane were nothing compared to this. And you’ll have a front row seat. You won’t be able to escape. Listen.” He curls his lips back and practically shouts into the other’s ear, “ _LISTEN_!”  
  
The Doctor manages to tear shakily away from him, darting eyes between the pair quickly. “You’re making a mistake here. _Donna_ \- Donna! In your mind, somewhere, you know what this is doing. The universe isn’t going to be able to patch itself up from this. If everything falls apart… and if Gallifrey, and whatever else, is pulled from their time-locks, everything _will die_!”  
  
“Oi, will you ever learn to just shut it?”  
  
“He _does_ love to hear himself talk, Donna.”  
  
“Am I as bad as him?”  
  
“No, you’re your own person.”  
  
“Good. As it should be. He’s bleedin’ daft, anyway.”  
  
“Donna…”  
  
A high-pitched whistle sounds. It echoes along walls and pierces the Doctor through the gut, through his inner being. Something has changed. Something outside this base has begun to eat and eat… He can feel it. He can see it, a glimpse through time, a glimpse into their future, and everything is aflame. There’s so much burning that he recoils sharply and shrinks back. The pair just send him a perplexed look.  
  
“How can you not _feel this_?!” the Doctor demands suddenly. “How can you be _okay_ with it? How can you possibly survive being _torn to bits_? It has nothing to do with a damn _conscience_! It has everything — absolutely _everything_ \- to do with what you are!!”  
  
The Master tilts his head curiously to the side. He replies calmly, “Doesn’t it feel remarkable, Doctor?”  
  
“No. No, it doesn’t. Why this, Master? Why are you doing this?”  
  
“Don’t you know? It’s so blindingly obvious,” he spits. “Every action you commit, Doctor, I have to make its opposite. Its balance. We’re two sides of the same damn coin. I destroy universes, you save them. You burn Gallifrey, _I save it_.”  
  
The Doctor just stares with wide eyes, a cold comprehension seeping through his features. He stiffens, works his jaw to speak, then remains silent. The Master patiently waits. He can feel the same thing as the Doctor, feel the universe falling to its knees. Donna is spared of it, at least. The Master lied — it’s a _horrendous_ feeling. Time is weighing him down; the drums are _deafening_ now, to the point where he almost wants to slam his skull against something hard just to put silence into his mind.  
  
_TO-WAR-WE-GO_  
THE-PROM-ISED-PLACE  
  
He needs to stop them so badly now. It aches so much that it’s sickening. A simple war would not do; it wouldn’t ease this away from him. He had to set the drums loose on everyone and everything, and then - _and then_ \- when Gallifrey has been risen from its ashes like a phoenix, then he will finally be free.  
  
This is destiny. Always a tug-of-war. The Master and the Doctor. A coin, a mirror image. Yes, some days he looks into a mirror and sees the Doctor grinning back. They’re opposites, they’re magnetic. One changes the universe, the other comes running to counter things. Push against it.  
  
He feels his insides burning and smells ash and hears their work of art bellowing around them. Sees Donna’s cocky grin, the Doctor’s defeat, the time stream flailing before his eyes.  
  
“I bet you knew this would happen, one day, Doctor,” the Master whispers suddenly. “Because you were too weak to do it yourself. So where does the task fall? _Me_.”  
  
And the u And the universe begins to unravel, with them at its nucleus.


	3. prelude

They spend about two weeks doing nearly nothing related to work. Tea in the kitchenette, sword fights on the back lawn (it's almost the same dance as with the Doctor, but Donna has a different style of her own, and she could catch the Master by surprise at times), pointless discussions about the universe on the porch. It's domestic and strange, yet it doesn't bother him so much.  
  
Donna wakes up some days, scrunching her face when she finds the Master making breakfast, and she says things out of the blue.   
  
Thursday: "Thank god you got rid of that beard in this regeneration."  
  
"Really? I thought it always looked dastardly.”  
  
"It doesn't." They had toast, jam, and eggs that morning.  
  
Friday she throws something at his head and he swivels around with fury, snapping that there are _other_ ways to get his attention, but then she redeems herself by unrolling some plans that she had been futzing around with, and the Master forgives her.  
  
Saturday it's an afternoon of teaching her human tongue the simpler workings of Gallifreyan pronunciations while they fence. By nightfall she can mange quite a fair deal of the dead language, and Sunday morning she cheerfully greets him such.  
  
Monday they have Carmen and Louie over for tea, and the Master has _buckets_ full of fun with them! Donna simply scoffs, but she doesn't understand the pleasure in tweaking with someone's mind. Oh, he just can't help it, though! Carmen makes it so _easy_ , and her husband is _clueless_.  
  
"I want you to find a man called 'the Doctor,'" he tells Carmen when he pulls her out onto the porch, hands resting on his shoulders. "He really is an easy person to find, _al_ ways getting himself into trouble, especially on Earth."  
  
"This man, how do I know when I find him?"  
  
"Here," the Master says, then nudges his thumbs against her temples and feeds her the proper information. "He'll be lurking in the corners of your mind until you find each other." He grins, chuckling softly, then leans his lips down besides her ear and whispers, "Tell him something for me, would you?"  
  
_Your song is ending._  
  
_It is returning through the dark._  
  
_He will knock four times._  
  
He taps a finger along her skull, pulling away when Donna and Louie step. He cocks his head to the side, then says to the couple pleasantly, "Do have a safe journey. Keep an eye out for certain skinny gits. Ah, take care now, darlings!"   
  
And he waves them off. He and Donna have work to get down to, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Originally this was posted on Teaspoon & an Open Mind Sept/Oct 2009.
> 
> The things you find when you're not even looking.


End file.
